Airplane.



L. S. BARR.

AIRPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I5. 1212.

Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET I- L. S. BARR. AIRPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 15. um.

1,287,182. 7 Patented Dec. 10, 1918 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- y JL 3/ r arm nag/ a STATES P TENT OFFICE.

amrLAnEl T all whom it may concern Y Be it known that I, LESTER S. BARR, acitizen of the United States, and residing at ;Washingtpn, District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Airplanes, of 'which the following is a specification. l

This lIH'BHt10I1 relates to airplanes and more particularly to a landing or alighting device adapted to be nested in the bottom of.

the fuselage.

In high speed airplanes, it is necessary to eliminate to as great an extent as possible. all

' fuselage during flight, and extended when alighting. The at present preferred embodiment of the invention is-illustrated in I the drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an "airplane having my invention embodied therein; Fig. 2 1s a sectional elevat1on,of a portion of I the bottom of the fuselage and the landing device Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of a portion" of the airplane showing the shape of the recess formed in.the bottom of the fuselage for housing the landing device when it is retracted;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation similar to Fig. 2, but showing the landing device in retracted position; I

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail illustrating the locking means for holding the landing de- I vice in extended or retracted position.

. Referring to the drawings, the invention hasbeen shown as embodied in a bi-plane although it is not-limited to this form of aerial -machine. The plane has the 'usual fuselage which may be of any desired shapeand at the forward end thereof is provided I with myimproved landing device. As shown, this device comprises an axle 11,

which carries the landing wheels 12, that are preferably spaced a distance less than the width of the fuselage, although the invention is not limited to this particular spacing. The axle is connected tothe bottoni of the fuselage by means of two forward arms 13 and 14, and two rearward arms 15 and 16. The arms 13 and 14 each have one end thereof pivotally attached to the axle, and

. specification of Letters Patent. Patented D'ec.-10, 1918. Applicatiolf filed September 15, 1917. Serial No. 191,612.

[the other end pivota'lly mounted on a member 17 secured in any desired manner to the bottom of the fuselage. The arms 15 and 16 each have one end thereof pi'votally at tached to the axle 11, and the other end pivotally mounted on a member 18, the ends 19 and- 20 of which are slidably mounted in the guides 21 and 22 respectively.

For the purpose of locking the landing device in either extended or retractedv position, the ends 19 and 20 of the member 18 carry the pins 23 and 24 respectively, each of which has associated therewith a spring 25 which normally projects the pin intoan aperture 26 formed in the guides 21 and 22. These apertures 26 are located so that the landing device will be held in proper ex-- tended position. At the opposite ends of the guides with respect to the ends having the apertures 26, are similar apertures 27 so located that when the landing device is in retracted position as shown in Fig. 4, the

pins 23 and 24will be forced into the same to thereby lock the landing device from displacement downward.

For the purpose of operating the landing device, a lever 28 is mounted within easyreach. of the a 'iator andxhas a connector 29 which passes around a grooved'wheel 30 and is attached to ayoke 31, secured on the member 18. The opposite end of this yoke has a connector 32 which passes around the grooved wheel 33, mounted in rear of the has one end fastened to the connector 32 and the other end projecting on the opposite side of the lever and formed with a head 35, between which and the lever is interposed a compression spring 36. w

' It will be seen that before the landing device may be operated by the lever 28 to either extend it or retract it, that the lock- ,ing pins 23 and 24 must be withdrawn from landing device and has a lost motion connec- 'tion with the lever 28. This lost motion connection preferably consists of a pin 34, which is slidably mounted in the-lever and their associated apertures in the guides 21 and 22; Themeans for accomplishing this consists of a connector 37 having an end fastened to the pin 23 and passing around a grooved wheel 38, carried by the yoke 31,

thence-around the wheel 33 and having its other end secured to the lever 28. The other pin 24 is controlled by a similar conmotor 89 that passes around the m'ooved wheel 10, coaxilly arranged with respect to the wheel 38. to the lever 28.

The bottom of the fuselage is formed with a recess 11 of the shape shown in Fig. 3, so that the landing device may be nested therein when retract-ed with no part except a portion of the wheels projecting beyond the outer surface of the fuselage. The wheels of course, when the landing device is retracted, project farther inwardly and the bottom of the fuselage is therefore formed with the two apertures 42 and 13 to accommodate the wheels. i

The lever 28 may be provided with a latch 45 which is adapted to cooperate with the two notches -16 an 47, formed in a quadrant H. hen the latch is in the notch -16, the lever is in the position corresponding to the retracted position of thelanding dethence around the wheel 33 vice and when in the notch 47, is in the position which it occupies when the landing devlce is extended.

In the operatlon of my invention, 1n order to retract the landing device from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shownin Fig. 4, it is merely necessary to throw the lever 28 from the position of Fig. 2 to that of Fig. 4. During the first portion of this movement of the lever, as the member 18 is locked against displacement, the spring 36 will merely be compressed, thereby permitting the locking pins 23 and 2& to be withdrawn by movement transmitted from the lever to the said pins by the connectors 37 and 39. After these locking pins have been retracted, further movement of the lever is transmitted to the member 18 by the connector 32, thereby moving said member to the left as viewed in Fig. 2 until it reaches the position shown in Fig. 4, whereupon the spring 25 forces the "pins 23 and 24 into .the registering apertures 27, thus locking the landing device in retracted position. lVhen it is desired toextend the landing device, the lever 28 is moved slightly to the right from the position shown in Fig. 4. This motion does not displace the member 18 as it is locked against movement by the locking pins, the spring '36 allowing this movement of the lever without efi'ecting the member 18. It will be seen, however,

that this slight rocking of the lever withdraws the locking pins and the instant that they are free from the apertures 27 the weight of the landing device will act to slide the member 18, thereby carrying the pins out of registering position with the apertures 27. The lever 28 is then swung to the left, as viewed in Fig. 4, and this movement is positively transmitted to the member 18 .by the connector 29. thereby sliding the member 18 to the position shown in Fig.

2, where the locking pins 23 and 24 are projected into the apertures 26, thus securfecting the projection of the device, the release of said first mentioned means and the retraction of said device.

2. The combination with an airplane of an extensible landing device. releasable means for rigidly locking the device in extended position, and a lever having connections to said releasable means and device for effecting the projection of the device, the release of said means and the retraction of said device.

3. The combination with an airplane of an extensible landing device comprising a pair of spaced wheels, an axle carrying said wheels, means for connecting said axle to the fuselage of the airplane comprising arms pivoted on the axle and-fuselage,,a member horizontally slidable at the bottom of the fuselage, one of said arms being pivoted to said member. means for locking said member at the ends of its sliding movement, and a single means for slidably actuating said member and controlling the said locking means.

4. The combination with an airplane, of an extensible landing device and means for extending and retracting said device including a pair of parallel spaced guides, a memberslidable in said guides having releasable means for locking the same to, the guides at the ends of its sliding movement, and a single means for actuating said memher and controlling said locking means.

'5. The combination with an airplane, of an extensible landing device and means for extending and retracting said device including a slidably mounted member having releasable means for locking the member with the device in extended position, and a single device for controllingsaidreleasable means and actuating said member.

6. The combination with an airplane, of an extensible landing device and means for extending and retracting said device including a panof spaced guides, a member slid able in said guides having releasable means for locking the same at one point of its travel, an actuating lever and connections from said lever to the member and releasable means for positively sliding said member in both directions of its stroke.

7, The combination with an airplane, of

an' extensible landing device and means for tion from said pin to the lever: and a lost extending and retractlng said device includmotion connection from said member to the ing a pair of spaced guides, a member slidlever whereby movement of said lever r first 10 able in' said guides having a spring pressed retracts the" pin and then moves the mempin adapted to engage a recess formed in a ber.

' guide to lock the member at one point of In testimony vvhereof I afiiX m signature.

its travel, an actuating lever and a connec- LESTER BARR. 

